Financial knowledge must for youth: Experts
KATHMANDU, MAR 22:
Experts have stressed on the need for financial institutions to design products that are children and youth friendly to inculcate financial discipline early in life.
“Financial institutions including cooperatives need to bring savings schemes especially designed for children and young adults so that the habit of saving is encouraged,” said Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada during a ceremony held to mark the end of Child and Youth Finance Celebration Global Money Week, here today.
“If children are provided with an ATM card it gives them a sense of economic empowerment and makes them financially responsible,” he added. He urged parents and schools to familiarise children with basic financial literacy and include such topics in curriculum. Dr Khatiwada said that banks need to provide more mobile banking services through mobile phones or business correspondents to make banking more approachable for minors.
“Children and adolescents need be taught to value money early in life and also taught that saving should be done in formal financial channels and instruments,” he pointed out, adding that making children financially prudent might contribute to lessening financial crimes.
According to Children and Youth Finance International, among the 2.2 billion children and youth in the world, only one per cent has access to formal financial channels. The initiative aims to bring 100 million children into the financial net.
“In Nepal, there is not much data available regarding the inclusion of youth and children in the financial system but we can presume it is low,” said executive director of NRB Narayan Prasad Paudel. “NRB has launched a financial literacy campaign to promote financial knowledge which also focuses on children and youth,” he added, advising financial institutions to introduce savings schemes for children.
At present, Bank of Kathmandu, Kumari Bank, Kist Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Citizens Bank International and Laxmi Bank among others offer bank accounts for minors. Misaki Akasaka Ueda from Unicef pointed out that financial inclusion empowers disadvantaged groups which in this case are the youth.
“Access to finance is important in the phase when youths are transitioning to independence from dependence in terms of societal as well as financial situations,” she added. She stressed on expanding financial literacy programmes to children and youth so that financial habits can be inculcated from early on.
NRB’s interaction
In order to promote financial literacy among children and youth, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada announced that the central bank will launch regular interaction programmes in schools and colleges. At present, NRB’s Access to Financial Services Project is undertaking the financial literacy campaign through publication of books, and broadcasting of infomercial programmes on radio and television. NRB is also collecting statistics of financial institutions providing savings facility to children in order to build a database and design policies to help improve financial inclusion among minors.
Source: THT
